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Yea I find it hard to believe that modern metallurgy can't produce this steel if it really was that good. I think this is one of those examples of something uber rare becoming overhyped but I am willing to be convinced otherwise. Maybe somebody who knows more about metallurgy than I can explain to me why this steel is so odd that a good metallurgist couldn't duplicate it exactly if he or she wanted to..

My guess is that this steel a very high carbon steel with a small amount of alloy in it, 1.35-1.40% carbon and maybe .15-.20% percent chrome, tungsten or vanadium used as a grain refiner and low amounts of manganese. Using virgin steel limits the amount of tramp alloy in the steel. The steel probably has very low amounts of impurities in it also.

Good stuff Ttb. Given the chemical make up, this is what they call a finishing steel. Similar to F-2 and F-3 but with more carbon. This type of steel has been replaced by high speed steels over the years. There are some similar grades made in Germany today.